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How My Excitement Towards Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Turned Into Disillusionment

byKanika Mehra
August 13, 2018

When I first saw the video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez realizing she had won, I was instantly captivated. A millennial Latina had beat a ten-term incumbent in her first, entirely people-funded campaign, and was now shaping up to become the youngest woman elected to Congress

I, like most, had never heard of her before that night. But as a 17-year-old POC girl, everything I could glean about her was absolutely inspiring. Here was someone that represented diversity, idealism in politics, and the triumph of grassroots efforts over the plague on democracy that is Big Money, all in one. This was the stuff of a feel-good Parks and Recreation storyline, the kind of cheerful hopefulness that must have gotten lost somewhere in between the thousands and thousands of posters and bumper stickers and T.V. adverts plastered with the famous “Yes We Can” and “Change” slogans during President Obama’s first run in 2007, and the speech he gave in late June of this year, wherein he advised the audience not to “wait to feel a tingle in your spine, because you’re expecting politicians to be so inspiring and poetic and moving somehow.” And there was admittedly something very endearing about the fact that the lipstick color she wore to a debate consequently sold out a few days later.

Yet cut to a month or so later, and no more to anyone’s disappointment than my own, I can’t help but feel slightly disillusioned with her. After several fumbles in interviews and more than a few blatantly false statements, Ocasio-Cortez has raised questions as to whether she’s in over her head. I don’t blame her for “not being the expert of geopolitics” — a year ago she was bartending, and now the chairman of the DNC himself, Tom Perez, has named Ocasio-Cortez the “future of the Democratic party.” But despite her radical positions, she isn’t just some plucky fresh-faced newbie on the outskirts of the mainstream conversation. Ocasio-Cortez has been clearly been given a place in the national spotlight, and in gearing up for a self-described “political revolution,” she seems to have accepted that responsibility.

And part of that responsibility should entail not shying away from providing a thorough defense of the bold policies, from abolishing ICE to promising Medicare for all, she wants to realize when reaching office. Ergo the disillusionment, which came to a head after in an encounter she had with Ben Shapiro on Thursday evening, Ocasio-Cortez refused such an opportunity. First, a quick summary, chronicled by the raw sources themselves:

Depending on where you read about it, Ocasio-Cortez’s response was either a cop-out, through and through, proving how untenable her views are, and only serving to diminish the very real issue of cat-calling that some women deal with on a daily basis, or a “spot-on analogy” delivered with “flair,” which properly put Ben Shapiro and his classless demand for relevance in place

Some points to both sides: as many of her supporters pointed out, Ben Shapiro is not running against Ocasio-Cortez. He is not a constituent within New York’s 14th district. And while a quick Google search can’t tell me whether it’s status quo for a frontrunner to refuse debates with anyone other than a political opponent, contending (as many Shapiro supporters have) that it was entirely within the candidate’s prerogative to decline or ignore the request, rather than essentially accusing Shapiro of having the ethos of a catcaller, ignores that had Ocasio-Cortez not issued a response, her mentions would still be flooded with conservative supporters mocking and chastising her for not acknowledging him at all. Furthermore, as a young woman in politics, Ocasio-Cortez, unfortunately, hits all the criteria misogynists need to doubt her expertise with a condescending tone.

Conversely, those who have come to Ocasio-Cortez’s support by labeling this a publicity stunt from a provocative Conservative troll desperate for his share of the spotlight have been conveniently reductive of Shapiro’s profile: he’s a best-selling author, Editor-in-Chief of a popular online magazine, visits dozens of college campus’ a year, has appeared on national television, and his radio show and podcast following consists of millions. He’s controversial, yes, but if he wants a platform, he has his own. And as far as the bad intentions argument:

1) The format of Ben Shapiro’s Sunday Special Program functions as long-form debate, on which he has willingly and quite civilly engaged with notable liberals before. Two people sitting down in a room to engage in a dialogue without any other sort of interruptions do not scream bad-faith the way, say, hasty twitter interactions that end in some choice words and blocking each other (the preferred form of discourse these days) does.

2) If people are accusing Shapiro of only challenging Ocasia-Cortez because he believes he can beat her, well, for lack of a better term… duh? She’s a socialist. Her views are entirely antithetical to the libertarian ideology. And vice versa. That’s how debates/having-conviction-in-the-beliefs-you-spout-to-the-world-and-promote-as-cultural-and-civil-leaders works.

Yes, Ben Shapiro has a reputation for being a ruthless and formidable presence during debates, with a certain je ne sais quoi (French for That Guy), but despite what his pinned tweet (“Facts don’t care about your feelings”) and fan videos on YouTube with titles that are usually a variation of something like “WATCH As Ben Shapiro totally OBLITERATES brainwashed LIBTARD about political correctness!!!” may imply, he has repeatedly demonstrated an openness and appreciation towards people willing to engage in thoughtful conversation with him, and some glimpses of self-awareness (see below) as well.

3) What is bad-faith at this point? Poorly formed attempts at sarcasm? Offering journalists money to ask President Trump for his opinion regarding U.S. relations with the fictional country of Wakanda? The double-standards both sides continue to impose on each other feel downright ludicrous at this point. Our country is polarized. Read a Pew Poll.

4) “Unsolicited request” is a contradiction.

This isn’t coming from someone itching to see Ocasio-Cortez and her socialist platform humiliated and destroyed (and then, of course, turned into an unseemly meme that circulates right-wing corners of the Internet). Rather, it’s a plea from a young person, one part of the so-called future she’s fighting for, who desperately wants to see that empathy, compassion, equality, and all the other ideals that so aptly reflect our generation can exist in politics without sacrificing practicality, rationality, and substantive evidence. What better way to accomplish that than to engage in a considerate and reasoned debate with someone who clearly does not agree with her, and would, therefore, be the ultimate devil’s advocate? To show supporters and critics alike that her beliefs can withstand being seriously challenged, and in effect, strengthened? And what does it say about those beliefs if they can’t?

Frankly, accepting this debate probably isn’t in the strategic interest of Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign. Mid-terms are still a few months away, but she’s almost certain to defeat her Republican opponent come November. She could continue to find stamina within the progressive movement – much of which comprises of people who consider the likes of Shapiro, and most conservatives for that matter, to be of the scum-of-the-earth variety.

But nothing about Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign so far has adhered to how things in politics usually work.

Why stop now?

Photo: William B. Plowman / NBC

Author
Kanika Mehra
Kanika is a high schooler located in Maryland.
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